Alter State welcomes new Creative Producer
The future of major disability arts festival Alter State, presented by Arts Centre Melbourne and Arts Access Victoria, will be boosted with the addition of Jodee Mundy OAM as Creative Producer, Access and Inclusion.
Mundy’s arrival at Arts Centre Melbourne is the latest stage in a prolific career, working at the intersections of community across theatre, film, installations and festivals, and acknowledgment with an Order of Australia Medal for her Service to the Performing Arts in 2020.
Arts Centre Melbourne’s Head of Creative Engagement, Cynthia Nolan Myers, said she looks forward to Mundy’s addition to a passionate and talented team.
‘Arts Centre Melbourne is immensely proud of our people and what we have achieved over many years of inclusive and accessible theatre programming. With a breadth of lived experience and expertise we are continually evolving and moving towards further systemic change. Jodee Mundy’s appointment within Programming illustrates our commitment to disability-led artistic expression,” said Nolan Myers.
Mundy is the recipient of Green Room Awards (Innovative Theatre Award 2000, Innovation in Experiential Theatre 2017) and contributed to the inaugural Alter State’s digital program with the documentary Imagined Touch, which recently screened at the Lincoln Center in New York.
With a diverse range of experience and knowledge, the multidisciplined creative now sits in the engine room for Alter State.
‘Alter State felt like a magical golden vault that we had collectively been chipping away at for decades and decades and then in 2022 the huge door had finally opened,’ said Mundy.
‘My hope for the future of Alter State is that we continue to present, partner and amplify d/Deaf, neurodiverse, disabled and chronically Ill artists to forge new frontiers, achieve cultural equity and to be one of the worldwide leaders of the next global avant-garde movement, that being Disability Arts.’
Mundy is a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) and grew up as the only person in her immediate family that hears. Her native language is Auslan and second is English. In 2019, she was diagnosed with an incurable stage four lung cancer and with treatments ongoing for the rest of her life, she comes into the role with lived experience.
‘My passion is to gather disabled, and non-disabled, people of all cultural backgrounds to create incredible contemporary performance, art, story and culture. Being the only hearing person in my Deaf family demanded a rigour from me growing up, first as the family interpreter, then as an emerging artist and as a mid-career creative director,’ said Mundy.
‘I was, and still am, witness to the disparaging inequities between disabled and non-disabled people, aware of the massive gaps and the level of capacity building required for all of us to make cultural equity a reality. When I acquired my own disability four years ago, I embodied experiences of disability injustice and ableism in a way that, even before as a CODA, I didn’t understand because it’s an embodied experience. Our world is designed for non-disabled people.
‘For me, I want to channel into this role that programming Deaf and Disabled-led art is about investing in disability self-determination, culture and creativity; it’s a glimpse into an unseen era, of untold stories, of reimagined access, aesthetics, artistic adaptations, of a new and inclusive renaissance. Audiences will see art that shares our humanity showing what we can all be,’ Mundy concluded.
NORPA welcomes inaugural Research Artist
Lismore-based arts company NORPA has previously presented new Australian theatre productions such as Love for One Night, Dreamland and Railway Wonderland, which take inspiration from the stories and experiences of people living in regional Australia.
NORPA shows are informed by hundreds of hours of community research and consultation.
To assist with this process NORPA has announced a new appointment with the engagement of Jeanti St Clair, a media academic at Southern Cross University, as a Research Artist for the NORPA’s Makers Hub initiative.
NORPA Makers Hub is a theatre-making program running throughout June in the pop-up creative space NORPA has created at Lismore Showgrounds in response to the loss of NORPA’s home and venue in the 2022 floods. Throughout June more than 130 local artists will participate in 21 different, free theatre-making and dance workshops hosted by NORPA.
Read: Pop-up theatre space will aid flood recovery
St Clair will be working closely with NORPA, artists and the community throughout the Makers Hub in the areas of story research, best practices for community and trauma-informed research, as well as raising the profile of NORPA’s research informed and devised theatre-making process.
‘I’m incredibly excited to be stepping into this unique role at NORPA. It’s a perfect coming together of my experience and interest in crafting place-based stories that help communities see themselves and that reflect back to them their histories and imagined futures,’ said St Clair.
Julian Louis, NORPA’s Artistic Director, said: ‘Jeanti is an artist, producer and academic. She’s been actively engaged with the impacts of the floods, and creating projects that help animate the human story. We’re delighted Jeanti will be contributing to our future projects through story gathering and helping us understand intimately community experiences around the floods and recovery.’
Libby Lincoln, NORPA Executive Director, added: ‘Jeanti brings the curiosity of an artist, the skill of a researcher and the investigative nous of a journalist – we’re excited to see the outcomes of this innovative collaboration.’
Australian Ceramics Association announces new Board appointees
The Australian Ceramics Association (TACA) has announced the appointment of Hannah Kothe and Alfred Lowe to its Board of Directors.
Kothe and Lowe join Directors Kate Jones (President), Mike Hall (Treasurer), Diamando Koutsellis, Jackie Gasson and Debbie Pryor (Secretary and CEO).
The inaugural call for Board Director submissions attracted an outstanding calibre of applications from around the nation, mirroring the breadth and diversity of the ceramics community.
The appointment of Kothe and Lowe draws on their experiences within not-for-profits, arts organisations, and their passion for advocacy, community and ceramics. Their applications reflected TACA’s own organisational ethos and supported its aims to grow their network of national ceramicists. In connecting ceramicists with each other and the broader public TACA aims to provide greater development and presentation opportunities to the community.
As a national organisation, TACA’s Board and staff are based across South Australia (Ngankiparinga and Kaurna) New South Wales (Gundungurra – Wodi Wodi, Gadigal and Carigal lands), Queensland (Kabi Kabi and Jinibara land) and Northern Territory (Mparntwe) and Victoria (Naarm).
Kate Jones, Australian Ceramics Board President, said: ‘The response to our first callout for Directors was outstanding and demonstrates the strength and enthusiasm of our community. I am delighted that Hannah and Alfred are joining us on the board of TACA; their experience and passion are inspiring. The rest of the Board and I look forward to working with them on the next phase of our continued development and in serving our members.’
Hannah Kothe, TACA Board Director, said: ‘As a writer and arts worker with a deep interest in ceramics, I’m delighted to join TACA’s Board. My love of the medium was first developed through my work with Ernabella Arts and all the incredible ceramic artists working there, as well as the visiting mentors who I have met and learned from. I’m inspired by the collegiality of the ceramics community and excited by the opportunity to bring my skills and knowledge to TACA’s Board.’
Alfred Lowe, TACA Board Director, added: ‘It’s an exciting time to be a ceramic artist in Australia. We’ve seen a resurgence in the craft and with that a whole wave of new artists, like myself, who are incorporating ceramics into their practice. Ceramics can be an isolated practice and it is my aim to develop and expand our membership to reach out to those who may have felt like they aren’t a part of the traditional ceramics community. I am thrilled to join the Board and play a part in this new phase for TACA.’
Australian National Maritime Museum Council reappointment
The Albanese Government has announced the reappointment of Alison Page as a member of the Council of the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Page is an award-winning designer and film producer whose career spans more than 25 years. A Walbanga and Wadi Wadi woman of the Yuin nation, her work has centred on linking First Nations stories and traditional knowledge with contemporary design.
This will be Page’s third term on the Council where she has been a member since 2017.
Page currently serves on the Board of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, the Board of the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Board of Aboriginal Hostels Ltd and the National Australia Day Council Board.
She was until recently the Chairperson of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence and previously served on the Expert Panel for Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Peoples.
Page is also a member of the National Museum of Australia’s Indigenous Reference Group.
In 2015, her significant contributions to the design industry were recognised with her induction into the Design Institute of Australia’s Hall of Fame.
Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, welcomed Page’s reappointment. ‘Our national cultural institutions tell the story of who we are. It’s critical we secure their future with strong leadership,’ he said.
‘I look forward to Alison continuing to bring her knowledge and experience to the Australian National Maritime Museum.’
A member of the ICOM Board since 2022, Jessica Bridgfoot is Director of Bendigo Art Gallery, one of Australia’s largest and oldest regional art galleries, with a collection of over 5000 art, design and fashion objects.
As Chair, Bridgfoot will be responsible for leading the Australian chapter of ICOM, a membership association and a non-governmental organisation that establishes professional and ethical standards for museum activities, and is the voice of museum professionals on the international stage.
‘I am pleased to take on this role, and look forward to working with the ICOM Board and Australia’s membership base to address some of the unique challenges and opportunities facing regional, state and national museums and galleries,’ Bridgfoot said.
‘I joined the ICOM Board in 2022, after Bendigo Art Gallery was recognised for its long-running international engagement and contribution to Australia’s cultural life. I have been impressed with the agility and contemporary outlook of ICOM Australia, and look forward to building on this, and in growing international networks for Australian galleries and museums, as well as supporting the ICOM Board’s Strategic vision in the area of First Nations communities and culture.’
Bridgfoot has been Director of Bendigo Art Gallery since 2018, following three years in the curatorial team. Under her Directorship, the Gallery produced Piinpi – Contemporary Indigenous Fashion, the first survey of contemporary Indigenous fashion, and amassed the most significant global collection of Australian Indigenous contemporary fashion. The exhibition went on to be presented in Canberra, Paris and Taiwan. In 2022, the Gallery launched the major blockbuster exhibition Elvis: Direct from Graceland, curated in collaboration with the Graceland Archives, and attained record-breaking visitation.
Outgoing chair Mathew Trinca, Director of the National Museum of Australia, held the position from 2019, steering the sector through the pandemic, advising Federal Government on the Revive National Cultural Policy and building relationships with an emphasis on resource sharing and capacity building for neighbouring ASEAN and Pacific collecting communities.
Trinca said: ‘Jessica is a true visionary who has built the national and international reputation of Bendigo Art Gallery, and has also worked in the international and commercial sector, so brings broad and relevant experience and knowledge to the role.’
ICOM is an international organisation of museums and museum professionals committed to the research, conversation, continuation and communication of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible. The Australian chapter promotes and supports international collaboration between museums and museum workers, the wider understanding of global museum values and issues, and also advocates for and supports the work of colleagues in Australasia, Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.
The ICOM Board comprises Jessica Bridgfoot (Chair), Alex Marsden (Deputy), Lisa Walters, Vicki Northey, Toner Stevenson, Justin van Mourik, Elizabeth Gehde, Robyn van Dyke, Linda Byrne and Eric Archer.
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